Flying Car Set for Takeoff

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Flying Car Set for Takeoff

Meet George Jetson's car: The world's first flying car to lift off vertically will make its maiden flight later this month.

Moller International, a US aviation company based in Davis, California, is planning the first test of its Skycar in the company's backyard.

Like the British Harrier jump jet, the four-seat Skycar will take off and land vertically.

Powered by eight rotary engines, the flying car is designed to travel about 900 miles at more than 350 mph on a single tank of gas.

About the size of a full-sized SUV, the Skycar can be fueled with ordinary gasoline – the lower the octane the better, said Jack Allison, Moller's vice president of administration.

"It'll run on diesel, propane, even filtered McDonalds' french-fry oil," he said. "Anything that burns."

You can drive it, too. Allison said the Skycar will be legal on the street and capable of cruising roadways at up to 30 mph using its electric engine.

During the unmanned test flight, Moller is hoping to hover the car about five feet above the ground for a minute or longer.

Depending on its success, more ambitious tests with professional test pilots will follow in two to three years.

The car-plane may be on the market shortly afterwards, Allison said, depending on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which must certify the vehicle. Since the vehicle is the first of its kind, it may take the FAA longer than usual to give its stamp of approval, Allison said.

The company has already flown an Aerobot test vehicle, which uses a similar engine, to heights of more than 40 feet about 200 times.

Like a magic carpet, the Aerobot moves straight up and is capable of sitting stationary in the air, Allison said.

During tests, however, it had to be tethered to a crane since it isn't licensed by the FAA. Likewise, the Skycar will be tied to a crane during its test flight.

Currently, would-be pilots will need a pilot's license to fly the Skycar. But under the Highway in the Sky initiative launched by NASA in February, the Skycar and similar vehicles may eventually be flown completely under computer control.

Using a global positioning system for guidance, it's hoped that the Highway in the Sky system will allow unlicensed pilots to be flown anywhere by completely automated flying machines.